Pharmaceuticals, drugs, vaccines and the like obviously have to be made and stored in the cleanest possible conditions. Pharmaceutical companies, on a daily basis, are making, storing, transferring, shipping pharmaceuticals in great quantities. Contamination cannot be tolerated. This invention relates to a transfer panel structure where at least one common nozzle, also called a ferrule, is secured for support to the panel structure and may be connected to one or more other nozzles or conduits to direct pharmaceuticals from one tank or drum to another or to transfer lines leading to shipping containers, etc.. The inside surface of the nozzle, ferrule, or conduit, as it will be called alternatively herein, by necessity must be an extremely sterile barrier for pharmaceutical or biotechnology applications.
Such transfer panels are employed not only in the pharmaceutical industry, but the food, beverage and dairy industries or any industry where sterility is a requirement.
The nozzles which are secured to the transfer panels for support to bring pharmaceuticals from one location and direct them to another orderly direction of flow. Frequently, there are as many as six nozzle connections to a common port which are joined by jumper conduits.
The transfer panels, per se, are basically supports for the nozzles and can be mounted on legs, secured by brackets to a floor or suspended from the ceiling. They are generally arranged in vertical orientation with the various nozzles extending through the transfer panel in substantially horizontal orientation.
The nozzles pass through the transfer panel and are welded into position. In the past, holes were formed in the panel of approximately the same size as the outer diameter of the transfer nozzles. The nozzles were then inserted through the hole and welded in place. In the welding process, the inside of the nozzle frequently became burned, scored and was left with a surface which virtually invited contamination. Rectifying the problem, required cleaning and polishing of each nozzle.
In recent technology, the interiors of the nozzles are electropolished to produce surfaces that are of extremely high quality with a finish that is smooth and mirror-like. If those surfaces, through the welding process, are burned by heat transferred through the nozzle, they cannot be refurbished by electropolishing.
The present invention is directed to a transfer panel having nozzles of a unique design secured through the panel by a process which does not result in the interior being burned or scored through welding. The invention is also directed to apparatus for finishing the welded connection by grinding and polishing excess weld material.